Insulating internal combustion engine



March 1, 193s.- R c CR S I 2,109,633

INSULATING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed May 1, 1936 @ouuvo c C8055 y 7%.

Patented Mar. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT IiIcE INSULATING INTERNAL COMBUSTION,

ENGINE Roland Claude Cross, Bath, Somerset, England Application May 1, 1936, Serial No. 77,458 In Great Britain May 9, 1935 1 Claim. (01; 123-478) This invention has reference to a, means for so that the engine will continue to remain Warm increasing the efficiency of internal combustion and. be ready for developing full power When engines, particularly those employed for propelstarted up, whereas when the engine is running, ling vehicles. excess'heat is dissipated to an extent that a corn The average motor car engine is built as a trolled cooling-is effected which enables thetemcomplete unit with the gear box, and the average perature-to be maintained much nearer the 0pworking temperature of an internal combustion timum during all the Workingphases. engine is about 80 C. When started from cold In carrying out this object the said invention 1 it normally takes an engine about 15 minutes to resides essentially in ameans for improving the warm up to a temperature suitable for efficient efficiency of internal combustion or other engines 10 and economical running. Until this temperaby Co o t Working temperature Which ture is reached the engine will not give full power o s st n o p y insulating the engine and will use considerably more fuel than is rethat it is Wholly encased Within a heat retaining quired for normal running. chamber, and in introducing a stream of air to The majority of journeys done by a motor car dissip a y heat generated w i the m- 15 are of a relatively short distance and the ene during engine n ns, x e e a p egine immediately starts to cool down as soon as termined Working mp ratur it is stopped. On a cold windy day the engine The partieularadaptationof t inv nti n pr frequently cools off much more quickly th t vides an internal combustion engine wherein the 2 warms up. This is the main reason why short engine t is mp t y enclosed p, bottom journeys ause very fuel consumption Sides a heat. insulating jacket having A further disadvantage t this cooling ff is shutter controlled air. inlets and outlets by which that the engine will not run on the normal cara o l e eam of air can pass eenfimwusly buretter jet setting and some rich mixture device through the a k when in is runninghas to be incorporated. As this has to be suflin order to insulats engine however it 25 ciently rich to enable the engine to start from s be done so P li intgfgtde. w i cold on a very cold morning, it is usually much es a in a n at r h richer than necessary even f the Warming up may, for example, consist of silica wool-will be period during the first few minutes This addj so arranged as to be very readily removable and tional richness of the mixture is one of the main in the case of motor car engine'it can be so 30 contributory causes of cylinder bore wear. Anarranged that some insulating material is Other disadvantage to the exposure of engines to tened to the interior of the bonnet so that when the cooling elements in frosty Weather is that the bonnet is lifted the insulating material is the Water in the jackets can freeze up and cause automatically removed. The radiator of the car great damage to the engine unless some special would be similarly insulated and only exposed to 35 low freezing point compounds are added to the alr w when the Vehicle is in motion when cooling water. The Same problems apply to aero otherwise developing power. For example, the engines in a lesser degree due to the lighter radlaftor Shutters may be e from a heat Weight for the horse power developed In War sulating material and adapted to open under ther- 40 time however the problem of keeping engines mostatic control when the predetermined tem- 40 Warm so as to be ready for sudden attack is a perature 1s attained and/or when the accelerator very difiicult one. pedal is depressed.

The dimculty of controlling the temperature At a suitable position in the other parts of the of the engine during running has been overcome insulating acketwhich will include a heat into some extent by the use f thermostatically sulated Wall underneath the sump, at the sides, 45

.controned Shutters on the radiator, which Open and vertically in rear of the enginewith an openas the heating of the engine increases, but there mg for the propeller Shaft-Will be the Shutter is no certain regulation maintaining an controlled outlets be connected to Work temperature for n phases f Working wing to in unison with the heat insulated radiator shutters 5 th engine being generany accessime t th t so that the draft of cooling air can be regulated to mosphere t other points give the required degree of heat dissipation.

The object of this invention is to overcome the The invention also applies to direct air cooled disadvantages above referred to by so insulating engines or to liquid cooled engines of a type the engine from the cooling elements that when wherein the jacket is pro d d W Cooling fi not working very little heat is allowed to escape other projections. The insulating jacket can sur- 55 round the engine in the same way as with a water cooled engine, allowing air to pass between the insulating jacket and the engine when the vehicle is in motion.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing, showing by way of example, one embodiment as applied to a motor car engine.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation in section, and

Figure 2 is a sectional plan.

In eiTect, according to the invention, the engine I is placed in a box of insulating material which also encloses the radiator-1.. This boxcomprises a top 3, side walls 4, which may be hinged to lift after the manner of an ordinary bonnet, a rear side Wall 5, a bottom or floor 6, and a front wall I having an air inlet which is controlled by heat insulating radiator shutters 8 which open when the engine is performing.

Air is permitted to flow out from the heat insulating chamber thus formed by means of further insulated shutters 9 which operate in sympathy with the front shutters; such controlled outlets are shown formed in the side walls 4 but instead of or in addition to these side shutters, one or more heat insulated shutters may be provided in the floor 6 which comes underneath the sump.

In utilizing a thermostatic control for the opening and closing of the shutters, it is preferred to employ the thermostat as a relay controlling the operation of power means which effect the actual movement of the shutters. To this end the invention may employ a power means actuated by a fluid medium the supply of which is controlled by a valve operable by the thermostat. In the drawing the oil pressure of the engine is utilized for this purpose and there is provided a pair of oil cylinders I0, 10 in which work a pair of pistons having their rods H connected by bell cranks I2 and linkage I 3 to the side shutters 9 and by levers M to the radiator shutters 8, so that when the oil is supplied to the rear of the pistons they are forced inwardly and thereby cause the shutters to open as indicated by the chain dot lines. Oil

from the lubricating system is supplied through pipes l5 via a valve l5a which is opened and closed by a thermostat 16 which at a predetermined temperature after a certain amount of air heating has occurred after starting, will open the valve to allow the oil pressure to act, the degree of opening being varied by the thermostat altering the amount of opening of the valve according to the amount of excess heat generated so that an optimum temperature of the air in the jacket is maintained during all working conditions. When the engine stops and the oil pressure sinks to zero, the shutters will be closed by springs I! normally acting against the oil pressure.

Among the many advantages of the present invention may be mentioned that it provides a satisfactory means of insulating the engines heat from the seating compartment during summer conditions, whilst in winter the heat generated in the jacket can be easily utilized to Warm the interior of the vehicle.

As a modification, to improve the heat insulating of the engine it would be possible to put additional insulating panels on various parts of the engine itself as there are numerous surfaces which can dissipate heat but which if covered would not interfere with accessibility or running adjustments.

I claim:

Incombination with an internal combustion engine having a pressure lubricating system, a thermal insulating jacket completely enclosing said engine, said jacket having openings for the inlet and the outlet of engine cooling air into and from said jacket, shutters adjustable to regulate the efiective sizes of said openings, operating means for said shutters including a cylinder and a piston reciprocable therein a connection between the lubricating system of the engine and said cylinder, a valve in said connection, and a thermostat within said jacket and connected with said valve for opening and closing same responsive to changes in temperature of air Within the jacket, thereby to control operation of said shutter operating means.

' ROLAND CLAUDE CROSS. 

